I hate the canned shakes, so I don't touch the stuff. I can make my own, but I don't care for milk, so I have to doctor them up a bit. I LOVE the oatmeal raisin bars and the peanut butter crunch time bars, so I make sure to stock up on them. Life's too short to waste your calories on food you don't like.

Also, make sure to get enough variety in your snacks and dinners so you don't get bored. I'm not following the plan 100% any more, but these tricks helped me out when I was starting out.

It should as long as you're burning more calories than you're taking in. That's all it comes down to. These "diets" are simply a means to that end, and unless you're active and burning calories, you won't be very successful. Based on your calendar (for today at least), you'll be fine. Make sure that you're getting enough calories that you don't feel weak or starving, and you'll do great!

i definately agree with jennielynn, you must burn more calories than you take in. slim fast makes it easy and this site makes it so easy to keep track of your caloric intake and exercise.. it's really great to know that you burn a good amt. of calories just resting. so if you can't exercise that day, just eat less calories.

I am with jennielynn on the canned shakes. Nasty. The only shake I like is the Chocolate Royale from mix, & although I never seem to get tired of it, eating a meal bar vs. a shake makes me feel like I ate something so it's more satisfying. I get sick of chocolate & I don't particularly like raisins, but there is a Fruit & Yogurt Trail Mix bar I just LOVE...it has cranberries & almonds in it. Yummy!!! Just bought a case of them from Amazon because only one store near me has them & they're spendy there. Also a case of Chocolatey Vanilla Blitz snack bars, they're good too.

It's been working great for me because I wasn't much of a daytime eater (more of a coffee drinker) so it has helped me get used to eat more frequently without loading me up on calories. Then I have plenty of calories left over for an afternoon snack, dinner, & an evening snack if I want one.

Slimfast is definitely convenient & can be a great way to get you started losing weight. As you get used to tracking your calories & exercise, you'll discover places you can make changes that better suit you personally. Good luck!!

Calorie Count has a lot of great calorie calculators. Of course, if you go to ten different websites with ten different calorie calculators, you will get ten different recommendations on calorie consumption.

Couple things:1. You kind of have to play with your cal intake to see where you are losing. ONce you start losing, you'll probably have to keep adjusting it.

2. There is no magic formula. EVery body is different and we all lose in different ways.

3. Most people tend to over-report calories burned exercising and under-report calories consumed. Don't rely on exercise (especially the calories burned number on a machine in a gym--unless you have a heart rate monitor--as they are notoriously inaccurate) to compensate for what you're eating. Focus on calories consumed and think of exercise as the icing on the cake. Tracking everything is a pain but it ensure you're not underestimating cals consumed. Little bites and nibbles add up quickly.

You would pretty much have to run a marathon to UNDO a BigMac. (I'm paraphrasing here.) Don't get stuck in the trap of thinking you can erase food with exercise.

If you're eating around 2500 I'm sure you'll start losing if you drop it to 1600-1700. Good luck. FS is a great resource, so use it!

It is seriously one of the EASIEST diets to stick to. I bring a shake and a snack bar with me if I have to go out of the house for more than 2 hours after last eating. It makes it easy to resist the temptation of fast food since it is honestly easier to just reach into my purse and pull out a snack bar or shake depending on what I last ate. I make my own shakes with the powder at home with a serving of fat-free milk. It is even great to have a 100 calorie salad instead for a snack if you are getting bored with the snack bar. Since this diet I have found so many great ways to make salad since the start of this diet. Also, for meals I find that eatingwell.com has AMAZING dinners for 500 calories or less and gives great side item suggestions to make it a complete meal and give you the 500 calories. Be forewarned: the vanilla pre made shakes taste a lot like pediasure. I honestly love the taste... I just imagine for most it would be an issue. lol

I'm not really on a plan but I substitute a shake for my meal frequently. It is a nice, sweet treat after a workout. My appetite is usually pretty low for about 90 minutes after I workout so I will drink a shake to suppress and it and to avoid any late-night binge eating. I find the shakes really delicious. I tend to drink them when my carbs are already low for the day.

Thanks, jlbenitz - Since I restarted Monday I have been expanding my eating and not just limiting it to the MIMs. It was a good way for me to start though. They fill me up and I don't want the other ...